5 Gallon Bucket Lid Adapter Plates

thingiverse

This is an adaptation from (Daniel) BoundaryCondition's Modular Hydroponic Tower. I decided to mount the tower to a standard 5 gallon bucket by using and cutting the modular lock system into the lid, but at only ~2mm thick, it is too flimsy to support more than 1-2 modules, so I designed these plates to support a full tower. You'll need to cut a clearance hole at 115mm (4.527") to fit the parts. I'd recommend using a drafting or machinist's compass and dial, digital, or vernier calipers to set the compass to 57.5mm and then scribe the diameter in the center of the lid. Most lids have a small molding input spot in the center of the lid that is a perfect centering method for using and scribing the diameter with a compass. The top lid should be used as a layout pattern to drill 12 clearance holes (.257" diameter Letter F drill for 1/4-20 or Letter C or D drill for 6mm) for 1/4-20 UNC bolts (should be more than enough clearance for M6x1 bolts as well). The bottom adapter plate should then be placed under the lid and sandwich it between the adapter plates. 3/4" long bolts should be long enough with washers on top and bottom and a nut on bottom. Please use stainless steel hardware or you'll likely see rust. These parts are 8.25" diameter, which should fit on a X250mm x Y210mm build plate (per my Prusa i3 MK2S).